NGOs helping Syrian refugee women in Turkey: courage and uncertainty at a crossroads
Author
Companys Alet, Maria del Mar
Term
4. term
Publication year
2017
Submitted on
2017-07-31
Pages
44
Abstract
This thesis examines how Turkey’s de-democratization has shaped the work of NGOs assisting Syrian refugee women, and with what consequences for the women themselves. Situated in the aftermath of the 2016 coup attempt, the state of emergency, the EU–Turkey agreement, and the arrival of more than three million Syrians, the study asks how curbs on freedom of speech and association and restrictive laws affect NGOs’ ability to meet women’s needs, what constraints they face, and how they respond. The analysis is informed by scholarship on illiberal and hybrid regimes, NGOs in hostile environments, and gendered refugee experiences, and uses a Grounded Theory approach based on in-depth qualitative interviews with NGO workers. Findings indicate that the current political climate severely narrows NGOs’ operational space through legal limitations and curtailed freedoms, which constrains both assistance and advocacy for Syrian refugee women. The de-democratization process also negatively affects women’s rights and everyday conditions, including through intensified legal violence and logics of exception. The thesis clarifies the links between political change and humanitarian practice, highlighting both the obstacles NGOs encounter and the coping strategies they adopt in an increasingly hostile environment.
Dette speciale undersøger, hvordan Tyrkiets de-demokratisering har formet NGO’ers arbejde med at støtte syriske flygtningekvinder, og hvilke konsekvenser det har for kvinderne. Med afsæt i tiden efter kupforsøget i 2016, undtagelsestilstanden, EU-Tyrkiet-aftalen og ankomsten af over tre millioner syrere, spørger studiet, hvordan begrænsninger af ytrings- og foreningsfrihed og restriktiv lovgivning påvirker NGO’ers mulighed for at dække kvinders behov, hvilke barrierer de møder, og hvordan de håndterer dem. Analysen informeres af litteratur om illiberale/hybride regimer, NGO’er i fjendtlige omgivelser og kønnede flygtningeerfaringer, og bygger på en Grounded Theory-tilgang med dybdegående kvalitative interviews med NGO-medarbejdere. Fundene peger på, at det politiske klima markant indskrænker NGO’ers operative rum gennem juridiske begrænsninger og indgreb i friheder, hvilket begrænser både hjælp og fortalervirksomhed for syriske flygtningekvinder. De-demokratiseringen påvirker også kvinders rettigheder og hverdagsliv negativt, blandt andet gennem intensiveret juridisk vold og undtagelseslogikker. Specialet tydeliggør forbindelserne mellem politisk forandring og humanitær praksis og fremhæver både de hindringer NGO’er møder og de strategier, de anvender i et stadig mere fjendtligt miljø.
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